Jobe Tucker is the hottest fireman in Templeton by Lake Erie. Hot, single, and a fireman, he’s caught the eye of Stuart Talbot, owner of a local convenience store. But if Talbot doesn’t stop prying in the fireman’s life, there might be hell to pay. He just can’t control his crush, though.<br><br>Enter Talbot’s best friend, the straight Adam Lark, who balances Talbot when needed. Plus he owns a cabin away from the city where the two men occasionally spend weekends for downtime, relaxing. Unfortunately, Adam can’t stop Talbot from stalking Jobe.<br><br>When Jobe flirts with him, Talbot’s obsession and liking for the fireman heightens. But he has a heated history of being burned in a long-term relationship. Can Talbot put his tragic past behind him and begin a new love affair with the fireman? Or will his heart go down in flames?

Play with Fire

And I kept drinking. And drinking. A bottle of Jack a day. Sometimes two bottles a day. I was poisoning myself. I didn’t know where or who I was, or where I slept. Sometimes I woke up in Rosedale Park or next to Kent Elementary School, under the jungle gym. Once I woke up in the woods behind the YMCA. Another time I woke up in a man’s bed, fully clothed, thank God, on the other side of town, unsure of the guy’s name when he climbed out of the shower. The drinking took over my life, and steered me to places I didn’t want to be, and situations I certainly didn’t wish to place myself in. It was easy to be a drunk after Matt died in the house fire, though. Simple. Expected of me. Life after death. The means of my survival. The way I could function.


Chapter 10